HOTEL AND PUBLIC SWIMMING POOL INSPECTION ACT Present law authorizes the commissioner of health ("commissioner") to inspect, or cause to be inspected, at least once per month, and as often as the commissioner deems necessary, every public swimming pool in this state to determine compliance with the Hotel and Public Swimming Pool Inspection Act and applicable rules. This bill revises this provision to require inspections at least once every three months, instead of once every month. BED AND BREAKFAST ESTABLISHMENT INSPECTION ACT OF 1990 Present law authorizes the commissioner to inspect, or cause to be inspected, at least once every six months, or as often as the commissioner deems necessary, every establishment in the state to determine compliance with the Bed and Breakfast Establishment Inspection Act of 1990 and applicable rules. This bill revises this provision to require inspections at least once every year, instead of once every six months. TENNESSEE FOOD SAFETY ACT Food Code Present law authorizes the commissioner to adopt, by rule, all or part of the 2009 Food Code as published by the United States department of health and human services, public health service, food and drug administration ("Food Code"). When the commissioner has reasonable cause to suspect possible disease transmission by an employee of the facility, the commissioner may obtain information about any recent illness of the employee or make other investigations as may be indicated. A person in charge, having been provided by the employee with written documentation from a person who practices in a medical profession, that the employee has been diagnosed with a condition set forth in the Food Code must have an affirmative duty to notify the commissioner. However, a person in charge must not be required to obtain medical records from a prospective employee prior to hiring such individual as an employee. This bill expands the definition of Food Code to include any subsequent Food Code, or portions thereof, published by the United States department of health and human services, public health service, food and drug administration, and adopted by rule by the commissioner of health. Food Service Establishment Fees Present law requires permit fees to be paid to operate a food service establishment. The fee schedule is as follows: establishments generally pay $210 if there are zero to 50 seats and $360 if there are 51 or more seats; auxiliary food services operations pay $100; temporary food service establishments pay $30; child care center food service establishments and congregate meal sites funded through the commission on aging and disability that are food service establishments pay $50 for zero to 50 seats and $80 if there are 51 or more seats; school food services establishments pay $80; and farmers market food units pay $300 once an inspection has been conducted and compliance established. This bill removes the fee amounts from statute and, instead, requires the commissioner of health to set the permit fee amounts by rule. Quick Fast Food Establishment Delivery Vehicles Present law requires every quick fast food establishment delivery vehicle, whether owned by the establishment or not, that is used in the delivery of prepared food to be clearly marked with the name and logo of the quick fast food establishment. If the quick fast food establishment or one of its delivery employees reasonably believes that providing delivery services to an address would expose delivery personnel to a risk of harm, the name or logo may be temporarily removed. Additionally, all vehicles owned by a quick fast food establishment used in the delivery of its products must meet the requirements for proof of financial responsibility according to law. This bill removes these provisions. Present law defines a "quick fast food establishment" as those food establishments that only prepare food to be eaten off premises and that provide delivery services for such food but provide no set up, serving, or clean-up services. This bill removes this definition. Maintenance of Employee Records Present law requires every quick fast food establishment to maintain accurate and current files on each employee hired to provide delivery services that verify the employee has met the requirements of the Tennessee Food Safety Act. Such files must be open for inspection by the commissioner or the commissioner's authorized agent. This bill removes these provisions. Maintenance of Required Files Present law requires files that are required to be maintained in accordance with state law to be kept by all quick fast food establishments that employ drivers or that contract with drivers or contract with companies that provide drivers for the delivery of food. If a quick fast food service establishment contracts with a company that provides drivers for the delivery of food, the company must provide to the food service establishment proof of financial responsibility for each of the company's employees providing the driving services under the contract. This bill removes these provisions. BEDDING MATERIALS Present law requires terms used on the tag to describe filling materials to be restricted to those defined in rules promulgated by the department of health. A trade or substitute term may not be used, and no additional information may be contained in the statement. This bill removes these provisions. ORGANIZED CAMPS Present law prohibits a place or site within any political subdivision of this state from being established or maintained by any person as an organized camp, unless the person holds a valid permit issued by the commissioner or public health officer in the name of the person for the specific organized camp. "Organized camp" means any area, place, parcel, or tract of land on which facilities are established or maintained to provide an outdoor group-living experience for children or adults, or where one or more permanent or semi-permanent structures are established or maintained as living or sleeping quarters for children or adults, and operated for educational, social, recreational, religious instruction or activity, physical education or health, or vacation purposes either gratuitously or for compensation. The annual permit fee to operate an organized camp must be in accordance with a schedule provided in present law. Additionally, the permit must be kept and displayed in a conspicuous manner, properly framed, at the organized camp for which it was issued. This bill clarifies that "organized camp" does not include either of the following:  Camps that are established for and used exclusively for residential purposes other than camping, if (i) no permanent or semi-permanent structures or buildings are established or maintained on the property as living or sleeping quarters, restrooms, or a cafeteria or kitchen, to provide an outdoor group living experience for children or adults and (ii) sites are rented for a week or longer.  Places established and used for a short-term rental unit. Present law requires a person who violates the rules adopted pursuant to organized camps, or fails to perform the reasonable requirements of the department or public health officer after receipt of 10 days written notice of such requirements, to be fined not less than $10 nor more than $50 for each offense. This bill increases the fine to not less than $50 nor more than $100. RENTED PREMISES UNFIT FOR HABITATION Present law requires the department of health to establish and distribute to each county and public health department of the state minimum health standards in the rental of any premises and these standards establish living and building conditions of a dwelling that render it unfit for human habitation. Any tenant whose rental payments do not exceed $200 per week, or third party complainant who has been inside a premises occupied by a tenant, may file a complaint with the building inspector of the city or county in which the rented premises are located or with the county public health department in which the tenant's rented premises are located, if the premises are in violation of the minimum health standards and consequently unfit for human habitation. The building inspector or a public health department representative must inspect the building facility no later than 14 days after the filing of the complaint. The complaint must be in writing, and a copy must be forwarded by certified mail to the tenant's landlord or the landlord's agent. It must be a condition of this provision that no rent must be paid to anyone except the landlord until the building inspector or a representative of the public health department agrees in writing with the tenant that the premises are unfit for habitation. However, these provisions do not apply to rental agreements in which rent is assessed and collected monthly, or assessed and collected for a term greater. This bill removes these provisions. Inspection Present law requires the building inspector or the county public health department, within 14 days of the filing of a complaint, to make an inspection of the rented premises. If the unit is found unfit for human habitation, the building inspector or health department must notify the landlord or landlord's agent of the premises, in writing, by certified mail, and a copy must be forwarded to the tenant. The notice must describe the condition found and give the landlord 30 days to correct the condition. If at the end of the 30 day period, which inspection must be made within seven days of the expiration period, the landlord has not corrected the condition, the tenant must pay their rental payments due from that date, to the county clerk of the county in which the premises are located. If the landlord has not corrected the condition at the end of six months from the date of the first notice, which inspection must be made within seven days of the expiration period, the rental payments made by the tenant to the county clerk must, upon a certificate of noncompliance being filed with the county clerk by the building inspector or health department, which certificate must be filed within 14 days of the expiration period, a copy of which must be forwarded by certified mail to the landlord or the landlord's agent, be forfeited by the landlord of the premises to the state for the use of the agency to whom the complaint was directed and the county clerk must, at the expiration of the 30-day period from the date the certificate of noncompliance is filed where no appeal has been had by the landlord as provided in this provision, pay to the state for the use of the county agency to whom the complaint was directed. Present law provides if the landlord files an appeal, the sums held by the county clerk must remain on deposit in the special account pending the final determination of the appeal. However, if the landlord corrects the condition, as determined by an inspection by the building inspector or the health department, the county clerk must, upon receiving a certificate of compliance from the building inspector or the health department, which certificate must be filed within 14 days of the expiration of the period, return the rental payments that were held, to the landlord. These provisions do not apply to rental agreements in which rent is assessed and collected monthly, or assessed and collected for a term greater. This bill removes all of the provisions under this heading. Retaliatory Eviction Prohibited Present law prohibits tenants from being dispossessed of the rented premises or penalized by the landlord for prosecuting any complaint under or pursuant to these provisions or for payment to the county clerk of rental payments where the rented premises are in violation of the minimum health standards. When it is necessary to temporarily vacate the premises to carry out repairs, the landlord may get temporary possession from the tenant and the tenant's rent must be abated during this period and resume upon the tenant's moving back into the premises. If it is not feasible to repair the building, the landlord must notify the tenant and the agency to which the complaint was directed that the landlord has elected not to repair the structure and must give the tenant 30 days' notice to vacate the premises. Thereafter, the premises must not be rented or used as a human habitation, unless and until the condition of violation is corrected. This bill removes these provisions. Duties of County Clerk The county clerk of each county is authorized and directed to accept the rental payment sums as provided by law and must deposit each sum in a special account and must account for such sums, as provided by law to account for such other sums in the county clerk's possession. The county clerk must receive the sum of 5% from all such rental payment sums that are forfeited to the state for the use of the county agency to whom the complaint was directed, for the clerk's services. This bill removes these provisions. Appeal of Certificate of Noncompliance Present law provides that a landlord has the right to appeal the findings of the building inspector or the health department to the county board of health of the county. Where the county has no county board of health, the appeal must be made to the county mayor of the county in which the premises are located. The appeal must be made within 30 days from the date of the filing of the certificate of noncompliance. The landlord must have the right, after the determination by the county board of health or the county mayor, of appeal to the circuit court of the county in which the premises are located. An appeal must be heard de novo in the circuit court. This bill removes these provisions. ON APRIL 7, 2025, THE SENATE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED SENATE BILL 1282, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 authorizes a permit fee to operate a food service establishment, as established by rule, to be increased up to 3% during a calendar year and up to 5% during a five-year period beginning January 1, 2026, and during each subsequent five-year period. For purposes of the law relative to such permit fee, the permit fee is established on January 1, 2026, and any increase is assessed upon renewal of the food service establishment permit or upon application for a new food service establishment permit.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 53-8-103, 68-14-303(4), 68-14-303, 68-14-503(4), 68-14-503, 68-14-703, 68-14-713, 68-15-205, 68-110-101(3), 68-110-101, 68-110-106